The Plot
f''This page reflects the current work-in-progress plot of Pokémon Sage. For the old pre-overhaul plot information, see The Plot/Old.'' =Basic Summary= Northington is obsessed with the myth of Quetzar, a Pokémon of incredible power that was was said to bring advancements to the native people in ancient times. So he sets out to find and reawaken it at any cost - but it was the arrogance and greed of people like him that made Quetzar seal itself and the legendary City of Gold away in the first place. He finally finds Quetzar and manages to reawaken it, but it is furious to see that mankind has not learned its lesson and unleashes its wrath. =Setting & Background= The following information provides a background to the story and details events that happened in the past that directly influence the plot. It also gives information about the setting and the legendary Pokémon of the Urobos region. The Legend of Quetzar and the City of Gold It begins with Quetzar Long ago, Quetzar descended from space and landed in the Urobos region. It was worshiped by ancient Urobian peoples for its power to bring inspiration. Whenever the stars would align a certain way, Quetzar would enter Space Form and unleash its powers of inspiration, and the ancient peoples’ understanding of the universe grew in leaps and bounds. Ancient Urobians built a legendary city around Quetzar, full of wondrous riches and near-magical technology they built with Quetzar's inspirational gift. The city was so famous for its gilded buildings and roads that it came to be known as, and is recorded in myth as, the City of Gold. (these golden features may or may not have been caused by Xotec's Midas Touch) The City of Gold The city was prosperous and great. The people used advanced technology inspired by Quetzar's gifts to make life easier; many of these improvements took the form of automata-like Pokémon, created as partners and helpers for the people of the City. However, after some time, the ancients became decadent and took Quetzar’s powers for granted, abusing them to the point of sloth. They used their inventions to do all the work for them. The ancients began to absentmindedly abuse nature, whereas the peoples of Urobos traditionally respected nature, and many outlying villages resisted the influence of the City of Gold out of respect for nature and the Nature Spirits. The ruler of this ancient City of Gold used the inspirations/inventions against his own people, reshaping many of the artificial Pokémon into warriors and enforcers. He ruled with an iron fist, and through aggressive expansion, the City became a city-state, then a great Empire. The emperor's abuse of nature became rampant in his lust for power, and the empire was about to expand into the peaceful "nature-respecting" peoples' territory. But then, Quetzar decided it had enough of this, and decided to punish the humans for their misuse of its gifts. Quetzar unleashed its wrath, reducing the City of Gold to ruins and driving its inhabitants away. All those inside the City perished when it fell. Before Quetzar could destroy any more of the region, the Nature Spirits begged it to stop. Despite everything that humans had done, and how the Emperor nearly upset the balance of the ecosystem, they still cared for humans, as any other living thing. They pitied them for how quickly they fell for their desires, but still felt they could be saved. Quetzar begrudgingly agreed to give humans one last chance. The seal Quetzar placed a seal on the Golden City and itself, erecting a field around it that from afar makes it look like a sea of trees, just like the rest of the jungle. If anyone is lucky enough to get near the barrier, they are suddenly turned around and moved without the person realizing. Resulting in no one finding their way to the City. Quetzar's barrier is designed to be unlocked by the power of the Spirits. When humanity had shown it could grow along side nature, allowing both to excel, then the spirits would use their power to remove the barrier around the city. Sealing itself away, Quetzar went to sleep. Thus, the City of Gold disappeared, remembered only in traditional myths and obscure archaeological finds. Extra flavor How the City of Gold is remembered in myth (fairy-tale stuff and deliberately wrong): Long ago, a shooting star fell from the sky, landing in the Urobos region. This star was said to give people great knowledge, so much so that the ancient capital city of the Urobian people was filled with wonders beyond imagination. With the incredible secrets of the universe revealed by this star, they managed to make guardians to protect them, and even managed to turn the city into gold. The City of Gold was a wonderful place to live, where no one had to work and everyone was prosperous. However, people began to become complacent with their easy lives. They used their wonders to do everything for them, even the guardians. Eventually, people stopped learning since only a few were needed to keep everything going. Some people grew frustrated at how wasteful the City became, taking the trees, water, and even air for granted. These people went to live in the deserts, around lakes, and jungles. They had to work hard to survive, and life was tough. Yet, they were never unhappy with their lives. While the people outside the city respected nature, even worshiping it, those living in the City of Gold only cared if their lives were comfortable. Trees were torn up while no seeds were planted, waters became dirty, the air became thick with smog. Over time, the kingdom came to be ruled by a cruel and selfish despot, who took advantage of the ignorant masses. He leveraged the knowledge he received in order to harm and control others. The kingdom turned from a paradise into a horrible place. The metal men who used to protect the people instead helped ensure the iron-fisted rule was unopposed. The ruler began to chew up even more of the surrounding forests, water, even the air itself. All to keep his "empire" growing larger. This angered the star, who decided to fly back into the sky, and take its gifts of knowledge with it. Without the knowledge, no one knew how to use the wonders they had created. After generations, everyone in the city had forgotten how to farm, or make clothes, or build homes. The city soon fell into ruin. After the City fell, the only only people left were those who had left the City to live with nature. They lived across the desert, around the lakes, and deep in the jungles. One day, these people returned to where the City had once been, but to their surprise, it was gone. Had war destroyed it? Had it sank beneath the ground? Was it stolen piece by piece by thieves? No one really knew. Slowly, the people grew. They learned how to make new tools and technologies to help them, though the knowledge that fallen star had given them was still far, far away. Each little bit of knowledge that was taken away from the Urobian people is now a star in the sky at night, held far away from bad people who could abuse this knowledge. When you see a falling star, it’s racing towards someone who’s about to have a revolutionary idea that will make the world a better place. The scientific perspective on the City of Gold (partially true, partially false): Many years ago, an empire rose that managed to stretch across the whole region. They were quite advanced for their time, but most historians agree any claims of advancement on par with modern technology are unfounded pseudoscience. At some time, the region was likely involved in some kind of violent conflict, as evidenced by archaeological surveys that have uncovered weapons and images depicting what appear to be battles. The cause of this supposed conflict is unknown; popular theories include the arrival of outside invaders, or some sort of internal upheaval. As for why the empire fell, no one is sure. Archaeological evidence doesn't seem to suggest famine or plague. Some propose rebellion, civil war, or an outside invasion occurred, due to the abundance of weapons and tools lending themselves to war, especially near the end of the empire’s existence in the archaeological record. There is also a theory that the empire simply became too large to sustain, and cultural differences forced it apart. In the end, all that is left of this ancient civilization are ruins (long picked clean by looters), pieces of tools and weapons, and ancient art including ceramics, metalwork, and stonework. This ancient art is quite popular, its intricate and bizarre patterns often drawing large crowds at museums and even art shows. After the empire fell, there is a brief “dark age” where civilization seemed to regress in technological prowess and peoples became more isolated, but eventually these isolated peoples reconnected and, through the centuries, became the Urobos region we know today. Legendary Pokémon Quetzar | |} * Came from deep space and arrived in the Urobos region in ancient times. * It has psychic abilities, primarily the ability to inspire those around it with amazing ideas, but these powers are usually latent. ** The stars fuel its powers and it can transform into Space Form to unleash these powers. ** It transforms at will, but if it does not have enough energy it can't do so. ** It used to use its powers very often, but since the City of Gold was sealed away, it only unleashes its powers once in a while. * Its powers do not make a person super-smart or omniscient; they grant inspiration, the ability to have a bright idea that can help one achieve their goals. ** It is up to to the individual person however, to see these goals through and use its inspiration. Everyone in the world is affected by Quetzar's powers when they’re unleashed, but only a few do something with it. ** The moral of the story here is that you can have all the brilliant ideas in the world, but only hard work and determination can bring them to life. (Tying into how our project works) * The player battles Quetzar in both Stone and Space Form. ** Quetzar sees the player and realizes that they are not in the Golden City for selfish reasons, like Talah or Northington, but to stop the greed and destruction Team Aurum has left in their wake. It decides that humanity may deserve another chance, and decides to allow the player a chance to catch it, in the hopes that traveling with a human may help it better understand humans, which are more complicated than the shallow, greedy things it originally believed them to be. *** Quetzar being caught is not mandatory to finish the plot. It does not have a high catch rate and is difficult to obtain. If it is missed during the main story it will likely appear in the postgame to be re-caught at some point, possibly at Shattercloud Spire. * Quetzar can be switched between Stone and Space form at will after being caught, in some way. It may or may not be able to change form during battle. The Spirit Trio | | |} * Have existed in the Urobos region for as long as nature has. * Wield the power of nature, but can be weakened when nature is harmed, so they usually tend to protect nature as if it were a part of themselves. ** Reside in three secluded ancient temples around Urobos, acting as their "homes" or nests. They wander around the area near their temples, keeping their part of nature in check. (They don't command it, but rather, offer it a "helping hand" if it's struggling.) *** In certain instances, the Spirits might elect to remain in their temples, as a last resort in order to protect themselves from intruders. ** Besides their innate powers of nature, they also have the power to reveal the City of Gold if humanity proves itself worthy, entrusted to them by Quetzar. ** Their powers are concentrated greatly in their "Cores", the hearts of their being. * Team Aurum plans to exploit these traits by destroying nature through man-made disasters (i.e. oil spill, drilling through the desert cave, burning the jungle), which both weakens the Spirits and lures them right into Team Aurum’s hands. ** The power of nature is too strong for any human to wield, so Team Aurum use the Legendary Golems to wield the Spirits’ powers and concentrate them on revealing the Golden City * They are wild and fickle, not necessarily helpful or harmful to humans. They are conscious of how humanity can ravage nature, and are somewhat weary of greed-driven humans trying to exploit their domains. * After the climax, the player must return the Cores to the Spirits’ temples and they have an opportunity to battle and catch them. They will be caught holding their Core as a normal hold item (much like Soul Dew or Light Ball; effects TBD). The Golem Trio | | |} * Man-made Pokémon (a la Claydol, Golurk) constructed during ancient times. * Originally made for various purposes but were re-purposed to have great combat abilities during the time of the Empire ** After the city fell, they wandered for ages, searching for energy and their master. They eventually ran dry and went dormant, until they arrived in the hands of the three Admins of Team Aurum in some way or another. *** Each Admin battles with a different Golem. They will use them in their second to last/last battle (i.e. no early game level 30 Eronze). ** They did not always look how they do now. Their ancient appearance may have been completely different, but modifications over the years altered their appearance to suit different ages of mankind. * Each Golem is powered by some aspect of nature. Eronze burns wood/plant matter, Erion uses chemical reactions and water, and Erace uses the air or wind in some way. ** The Cores of the Spirits react in a similar fashion, but more violently. Essentially, they are jam-packed with the things that the Spirits represent AND the Golems use for fuel. They grant both trios great power. ** The Golems are the only "machines" strong enough to wield the immense energy turned out by the Cores, so Team Aurum uses them to wield the Cores and use the Spirits' power to unlock the City of Gold. * Their disposition is like that of machines; they are very obedient and take commands literally, even if their trainer asks them to do evil things. They don't seem to demonstrate emotion. After they are exposed to the Cores, though, they seem to become more emotional and free-thinking. * Some time after the climax of the plot, most likely post-Elite Four, the Golems can be encountered, battled, and caught by the player somehow. = Antagonists = These characters work against the player at some point or another, generating the plot's conflict. Professor Northington Background A budding scientist looking to make a name for himself, Northington chanced upon some sort of evidence for the City of Gold and Quetzar’s ability to grant inspiration, only to have nothing convincing to show the scientific community. He believed that if he could awaken Quetzar it would give humanity the inspiration to bring a new age with better technology to help everyone. He was laughed at and mocked by his peers for his insistence on the city’s existence,and then slowly was ignored, causing him to despise them; even his friend Mangrove doubted him. This only spurred him on to find more evidence, so Quetzar's powers may benefit everyone. Determined to find the Golden City and Quetzar he returned to Urobos and searched fruitlessly. For years, he found nothing, as he did not have the resources or support, until he met with Talah. He saw the opportunity to use their riches and resources in order to get to the city and offered his services. Of course, he had no desire to reveal Quetzar and instead fed them the legends surrounding the Golden City to fan their greediness and willingness to follow his plans. Northington was reluctant to go with someone so infamous for being ruthless in business, but he had no choice. During the game Talah follows Northington's guidance, but her methodology is her own, using heavy-handed, destructive, and harmful methods in her quest. His opinion of Team Aurum slowly changes from a tool to hatred, disgusted at the wanton destruction Talah chooses to use, but he sees no other way of finding the city. He begins to justify it to himself thinking that the inspiration Quetzar will bring will generate the means to fix all the damage done. Northington barely tolerates the Team Aurum Leader and they frequently bicker, argue, and make snipey comments at each other. The rest of Team Aurum he loathes for being idiots (Grunts) or barbaric (Admins). He will happily berate the Grunts, and even Admins if he feels the desire of Talah to find the gold city outweighs the Admin's frustration with him. While Nortington is seen throughout the game, there are only hints he is working with Team Aurum until it is revealed at some point. After that, he is present at nearly every encounter in some capacity. Northingon acts friendly to the player when they first meet; seeing them as a chance at a protege like Mangrove and even the potential of someone who can help his goals without being so destructive. But once he learns the player is working for Mangrove, his attitude toward the player changes. Northington is cold towards Mangrove and any of his associates (Player, Friendly Rival, Sequoia). He'll be short and snappy, and sometimes won't be able to resist making a nasty comment when something has been said which mirrors his past somehow. Northington becomes more and more obsessed with Quetzar as time goes on. This obsession stems from a desire to redeem himself, to be seen as a savior for awakening Quetzar's powers and to prove those who doubted him wrong. The closer he gets to this goal, the more he justifies the extreme measures Team Aurum takes, assuming the inspiration will result in the creation such wonders that the damage caused is an acceptable price. We manage to see "into his mind" from notes/diary entries/etc left behind at the scene of Team Aurum encounters and/or in Team Aurum HQ. The danger of releasing Quetzar, especially by someone as misguided as Northington, makes him more dangerous than even Talah. At the climax of the game, he reveals his true intentions including how he lied to Team Aurum, and seeks Quetzar in order to awaken it and reveal it (thus proving him right), as well as to have it bring humanity to a new golden age. When his plan ultimately fails, the realization of what he has done and what has happened snaps him back to his senses. The weight of his failure and the damage he has caused by fueling Team Aurum's greed is too much for him to bear. His ultimate fate is unknown. Talah This character leads the game's villainous team: Team Aurum. Background Talah was born with little money; her once prosperous family had fallen from being a major company to complete ruin. With stories of the family's past, Talah grew up with boundless talent and ambition. She quickly learned that power was the only thing that mattered in the world, and money was the fastest route to acquiring it. Charismatic enough to gain trust - and heartless enough to take advantage of it, Talah quickly established her place in the region as a ruthless businessman/businesswoman, eventually transforming her small homegrown business into a powerful corporation. Despite their successes however, her lust for power was unquenched. As a child of the region she was told the stories of the City of Gold-- a wondrous city full of riches beyond imagination. This came from (insert lore/mythology here. TBA). The city had a cruel ruler that used the wonders of the city to subjugate the people of the region. However that's was all they really were; just stories. At some point in time she met Professor Northington, who informs Talah of his theory. He believed the mythical City of Gold was real, and it got him kicked out of the scientific community. At an earlier time Talah had acquired something which, combined with Northington's words, now convinced her wholly of the city's existence. Northington quickly strikes a deal with her. Talah would provide funding and manpower to Norty allowing him to find the mythical City of Gold (thus proving his theories right), in return Talah would gain all the riches that the city held. Talah accepts the deal, seeing it as a great opportunity. In truth, Talah cared little about the monetary reward. She was more interested in the "gifts" that the ruler used to dominate the people, to use them for their own evil ends. She does not fully trust Northington but believes herself to be capable of outmaneuvering any deception. Personality Cool and calm, but secretly sociopathic. They have a desire to dominate/show superiority, and believe they have the right to do so, resulting in arrogance. They appear classy, calm, and in control most of the time, much like a Bond villain. Nothing phases them, everything is on schedule, and you’re never quite sure if they’re toying with you. After several of their plans are foiled, their facade begins to unravel. They are cruel and bitter to their underlings, and do not tolerate failure. The thought of them failing shatters everything they know, so they deflect and blame the world around them instead. As they get close to their goal, they become giddy with excitement, letting their mind run wild with thoughts of how much power they can get. Likewise, when their plans are finally ruined, they will suffer a "villainous breakdown", unable to accept that they have failed. During the game The player will meet Talah early in the plot, but they will not know of her true identity. She will simply appear as a haughty rich person. As the game continues, She will be revealed to be the leader of the villainous Team that the player fights against, and her true nature will leak out bit by bit. At the climax inside the Golden City, Talah will show her true personality, and conclude her transformation from a carefully constructed persona as a calm and classy tycoon to a power-hungry megalomaniac. Post-game, Talah may be explored and developed more as opposed to Northington who will receive the majority of the main game to develop. Team Aurum The villainous team of the Urobos region is Team Aurum. Their design draws inspiration from various sources, such as adventurers, grave-robbers, conquistadors, and western bandits. Team Aurum was formed when their leader Talah decided to work with Northington and fund an expedition to the legendary City of Gold. It is financed "under the table" and is not connected, on paper, to Talah's legitimate business. Talah recruited starry-eyed youths and seasoned thugs alike with promises of riches beyond compare if they managed to loot the legendary City of Gold. So while the leader of the team is primarily motivated by power and Northington seeks the city to awaken Quetzar (unbeknownst to anyone else), the rank and file of Team Aurum are just in it for a chance at hitting easy street. Some members might not even fully believe in the myth of the City of Gold. The Admins Team Aurum is led by Talah, who commands three Admins that oversee Team Aurum more closely. Each Admin eventually comes to be in control of a different Legendary Golem. They will have a distinct personality and different motivations. Amber Amber is a brute who lives for battle. She enjoys nothing more than fighting, going out of her way to get into scraps. What she lacks in brains, she makes up for in brawn. She does not have a long-term goal per se, but mostly just joined Team Aurum in order to fight and dominate others. Amber regards most others as weak and will treat them with disrespect. However, she has a strange form of respect for trainers that can beat her, and relishes the chance to meet them again for a rematch. Loud, gruff and threatening, Amber is a juggernaut of a threat and a true force to be reckoned with. Kruger Kruger is a businessman who is just as cruel as he is greedy. He is ruthless, calculating and very exploitative, gladly sacrificing others for his own personal gain. Despite earning a lot of money, he still likes to get his hands dirty for it. He looks down upon "weak" people, living by the attitude of: "If you want it, take it. If you aren't strong enough to take it, tough." He mixes business buzzwords into his speech. Aster Aster is a rather antisocial and detached scientist. They rarely speak, and are wholly dedicated to their scientific experiments of questionable ethical standing. Almost everyone (with the exception of Talah) finds the presence of Aster very uncomfortable. Aster, however, does not seem to notice the strange effect they have on people, concentrating on their research with an inhuman air of coldness to them. They seem to be intrigued by many things, inspecting them with an eerily childlike fascination. Team Aurum's plan Team Aurum discovers, through Northington, that the only way to find the City of Gold is with the power of the Spirits. They hatch a plan: * They will use the Spirits' power by stealing their "Cores". These Cores can be used to power the ancient Golems Eronze, Erion, and Erace, who will obediently wield it and perform the Spirits' job of opening the city. * Team Aurum must first find and obtain the Golems from across Urobos, as they went into a slumber long ago in various places across the region, like machines whose batteries finally ran out. ** Eronze is at Dronia Museum, so Amber is sent to the museum to steal it. ** Both Erion and Erace have already been acquired by the Team at the Aurum HQ in Vivace. Erion is being made ready for a transport by Kruger, whereas Aster has taken Erace to repair and retrofit it in their laboratory. * Once Team Aurum has the Golems, their next task is getting the Cores. The Spirits are very powerful, so Team Aurum must devise a way to weaken them sufficiently to be captured. They are also hard to find and very flighty, but they come up with an idea. ** The Spirits naturally protect their environment, going out of their way to protect nature. So Team Aurum decides that causing disasters in nature is the best way to lure out the Spirits. Because the Spirits draw their power from nature, when it is harmed, they become weaker. * Their plan is threefold (the order of these events is TBD and details are subject to change): ** Talah orders Kruger to commandeer a rival company's oil rig, and cause it to spill into the ocean. This hurts Yacuma, and draws her out from her temple to the area. ** Aster assaults Machima's home, the desert cave where winds blow through the caverns and make sounds like musical instruments. They use heavy drilling equipment to bore a wide hole towards the supposed location of Machima's temple deep in the cave, fumes leaking from their machines all the way. This sound and air pollution weakens Machima, and forces her out of her temple into their hands. ** Amber stages a forest fire in the Jungle to lure out Patama and weaken her. * Once all the Cores are obtained, Team Aurum will use their power through the Golems to reveal the City of Gold, and plunder it for its riches. = Non-Antagonist Characters = These characters may work with the player, or they may work against the player but are not central to the plot's conflict. Ricardo Ricardo is the player's main rival and a menace throughout the game. He is a roaming bandit, and early on in the game, he steals the Starter Pokémon belonging to the player's friendly rival. Neither truly enemy or friend, he mainly focuses on himself and doesn't think much of anyone else. He sees Pokémon as lackeys and sees nothing wrong with stealing others' Pokémon. Over the course of the game, he may undergo character development that changes his perspective on one or more of these topics, or simply reinforces them. His backstory is not yet decided. His signature Pokémon is Somberado. Rival (Sofia/Simon) Simon and Sofia are the protagonists of Pokémon Sage, but they are also rivals. The character the player does not pick will become the player's friendly rival. This character cannot be given a custom name by the player. Simon and Sofia are childhood friends. They grew up in Dacapo Town together and receive their first Pokémon at the beginning of the game. The friendly rival's new Pokémon is stolen soon after by Ricardo, however, and Professor Mangrove gives them the third and final remaining Pokémon instead to help protect them while they try to track Ricardo down. Over the course of the game, they may or may not undergo character development. It has been suggested that they will eventually confront Ricardo in some way. It has also been suggested that they may help the player work against Team Aurum at some point. Other Characters * Professor Mangrove: Urobos's Pokémon Professor. Was once friends with Professor Northington, but Northington's descent into crackpottery drove them apart. May play a supporting role in the plot. * Sequoia: Professor Mangrove's assistant. May potentially appear in plot-related events in a supporting or background role. * Gym Leaders: May play a role in the plot at some point, or in various side quests. * Elite Four and the Champion: May play a role in the plot at some point, or in various side quests. It has been suggested that the Champion should appear multiple times throughout the game and potentially aid the player/defend the region against Team Aurum. Category:Development